JUNYOKAN!

15 October 1936: Launched and named
KUMANO. Prince Fushimi
Hiroyasu, a second cousin to Emperor Hirohito, represents the Imperial family at
the ceremony, led by Navy Minister, Admiral Nagano Osami (28).

22 September 1940:Vichy France cedes airfields and agrees to
admission of Japanese troops into northern Indochina (Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam). The United States responds by placing a ban on the export of steel,
scrap metal and aviation fuel to Japan.

23 July 1941: Operation "FU"- The Occupation of South Indochina
(Cochinchina) :Japanese and Vichy French authorities arrive at an
"understanding" regarding the use of air facilities and harbors in Southern
Indochina. From the next day on, Japanese forces occupy the country.

25 July 1941:CruDiv 7 departs Samah escorting an army convoy, perhaps
also with ASHIGARA and CarDiv 2's HIRYU and SORYU.

10 December 1941:At dawn, CruDiv 7 and DesRon 3 join BatDiv 3's
KONGO and HARUNA, CruDiv 4's ATAGO and TAKAO. After the British ships are
reported sunk by aircraft, CruDiv 7 departs the area for Poulo Condore.

13 December 1941:Departs Camranh Bay, Indochina with SUZUYA.

16 December 1941:Provides cover for the invasion landing at Miri,
northern Borneo.

27 December 1941: Arrives at Camranh.

5-10 January 1942:Escorts convoys with SUZUYA.

16 January 1942:CruDiv 7 departs Camranh with CHOKAI, light cruisers
SENDAI and YURA and destroyers to intercept British units out of Singapore,
Malaya. The orders are later cancelled.

11 February 1942:In the morning, in heavy seas, the convoy appears
on the horizon. Aylward sets up on two heavy cruisers and at close range fires
two torpedoes at each cruiser, but all four Mk.14 torpedoes miss.

4 April 1942:350 miles S of Ceylon. About 1600, the carrier Striking
Force is located by the Consolidated PBY "Catalina" flying boat QL-A of 413
Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) flown by squadron leader Squadron
Leader Leonard Birchall, out of Koggala. Birchall manages to radio in the
position of the Japanese fleet before his "Catalina" is shot down by six
A6M2 "Zeke" fighters from HIRYU. Birchall is one of the six survivors of the
crew of nine picked up by ISOKAZE.

5 April 1942, Easter Sunday: The Attack on the British naval base at
Colombo:At 0730, 127 aircraft from the Striking Force (53 Nakajima B5N2
"Kate" dive-bombers [18 from SORYU, 18 from HIRYU and 17 from AKAGI], 38 Aichi
D3A1 "Val" torpedo-bombers [19 each from SHOKAKU and ZUIKAKU] and 36 Mitsubishi
A6M "Zeke" fighters (9 each from AKAGI, SORYU, HIRYU and ZUIKAKU) of the "Kido
Butai's" aircraft, led by Cdr (later Captain) Fuchida Mitsuo, attack the
British naval base at Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).

The planes damage the base's facilities, destroy at least 26 aircraft
and sink the destroyer HMS TENEDOS, undergoing refit, the armed merchant cruiser
HMS HECTOR and the 5834-ton Norwegian tanker SOLI. The planes also damage the
submarine tender HMS LUCIA, the 5,943-ton British freighter BENLEDI and the
5,950-ton British freighter CLAN MUROCH.

A Kawanishi E7K2 "Alf" floatplane from TONE locates Vice Admiral (later
Admiral of the Fleet Sir) James Somerville's (former CO of HMS NORFOLK) British
Eastern Fleet's cruisers HMS CORNWALL and HMS DORSETSHIRE - without air cover.
Between 1338-1400, 53 D3A1 "Val" dive-bombers, led by LtCdr Egusa Takashige
(SORYU's Air Group Commander), sink both ships. 424 RN personnel are killed.
After the attack, the Striking Force withdraws to the SE and searches
unsuccessfully for the rest of Somerville's fleet.

Meanwhile, during the afternoon aircraft from RYUJO sink the 5,082-ton
British cargo vessel HARPASA and damage two other merchantmen, the 7,823-ton
British ship DARDANUS and the 4,839-ton US-built Greek ship POINT CLEAR. At
2030, Ozawa's Mobile Force separates into three groups to attack merchant
shipping in the Bay of Bengal. CruDiv 7/1's KUMANO and SUZUYA, under Rear
Admiral Kurita, form the Northern Group with destroyer SHIRAKUMO. Carrier
RYUJO, CHOKAI, SubRon 5's light cruiser YURA, DesDiv 20's YUGIRI and ASAGIRI
form the Center Group under Admiral Ozawa. MOGAMI, MIKUMA and destroyer
AMAGIRI form the Southern Group.

(Tracks of Nagumo and Ozawa's
Forces)

6 April 1942:Bay of Bengal. At about 0600, the three ships of Ozawa's
Northern Group attack and sink the 5,381-ton Norwegian tanker ELSA. After 0730,
KUMANO, SUZUYA and destroyer SHIRAKUMO intercept a six-ship convoy and sink the
4,986-ton American Export Line's EXMOOR (ex-CITY OF ST. JOSEPH), the 9,066-ton
British freighter MALDA, the 7,718-ton British freighter AUTOLYCUS and the
2,441-ton British freighter SHINKUANG at 19N, 86E. Ozawa's cruisers also sink the
6,622-ton British freighter INDORA and Captain J. H. Gregory's British India
Line's 4,921-ton cargo ship SILKSWORTH. About 50 of SILKSWORTH's mostly Chinese
crewmen survive.

Temporarily detached from the rest of Ozawa's Center Group,
YURA and YUGIRI sink the 1,279-ton Dutch merchant BATAVIA en route from Calcutta
to Karachi. YURA and YUGIRI also sink the 1,279-ton Dutch freighter BANJOEWANGI
and the 3,471-ton British steamer TAKSANG.

The rest of the Center Group, RYUJO, CHOKAI and ASAGIRI, sink five ships:
The 5,491-ton American freighter BIENVILLE is bombed by RYUJO's aircraft,
finished off by gunfire from CHOKAI (reportedly also from RYUJO), and then
scuttled a torpedo from CHOKAI. The 6,426-ton British cargo ship GANGES is
attacked by one of CHOKAI's floatplanes and two of RYUJO's aircraft, and is then
sunk by gunfire from the surface ships, including gunfire from RYUJO.
The 2,646-ton British ship SINKIANG is attacked by aircraft and then
likewise sunk by gunfire.
The 5,686-ton American freighter SELMA CITY is bombed by CHOKAI's floatplanes.
She is also attacked and hit by two aircraft from RYUJO, but by then is already
sinking and abandoned. The 2,073-ton Dutch freighter VAN DER CAPELLEN is
bombed and damaged by RYUJO's aircraft and sinks two days later.

That same day, the 5,268-ton British freighter ANGLO-CANADIAN is attacked
by five aircraft from RYUJO, including two armed with torpedoes, score one bomb
hit, which does not explode but which starts a fire. Also that day, RYUJO
launches strikes against Cocanada and Vizagapatam. The 3,827-ton British merchant
MARION MOLLER is damaged at Vizagapatam.

Ozawa's Southern Group sinks four ships. They first encounter disabled
DARDANUS, under tow by the 5,281-ton British ship GANDARA. The three Japanese
ships promptly open fire on the two merchantmen, which are finished off with
torpedoes from AMAGIRI. Two Norwegian vessels the 4,434-ton DAGFRED and the
1,515-ton HERMOD are then sunk.

In all Ozawa's commerce raiding detachment sinks twenty ships of about
93,247 tons during their brief foray in the Bay of Bengal.

9 April 1942: The Attack on the British naval base at Trincomalee:At
0600, Nagumo's Striking Force launches 132 aircraft led by Cdr Fuchida to attack
the British naval base at Trincomalee, Ceylon (91 B5N2 Kate dive-bombers [18
from AKAGI, 18 from SORYU and 18 from HIRYU, 19 from SHOKAKU and 18 from
ZUIKAKU] and 41 A6M2 "Zeke" fighters [6 from AKAGI, 9 from SORYU, 6 from HIRYU,
10 from SHOKAKU and 10 from ZUIKAKU]).

The Japanese find the harbor almost empty of warships, but sink the
9,066-ton British merchant SAGAING, carrying three crated Fairey "Albacore"
torpedo bombers and a "Walrus" amphibian, and damage the old 15-inch monitor
HMS EREBUS. The non-operational Dutch light cruiser SUMATRA is also hit, but
the 800 kg bomb does not explode. Outside the harbor, the southbound
4,784-ton Greek MARIONGA D. THERMIOTIS is damaged by strafing and seven men
are wounded.

HARUNA launches an E8N2 "Dave" floatplane. At 0755, it spots an enemy
carrier 65 miles south of the base. Between 0843 and 0853, the Striking Force
launches 85 D3A Vals, (18 from SORYU, 18 from HIRYU and 18 from SHOKAKU, 17
from AKAGI and 14 from ZUIKAKU), escorted by 9 A6M Zekes (3 each from AKAGI,
SORYU, HIRYU) which sink old light carrier HMS HERMES. 306 RN personnel are KIA,
but hospital ship HMHS VITA, en route from Trincomalee to Colombo, arrives and
picks up over 600 survivors.

Other sailors are rescued by local craft or swim to shore. Nagumo's
aircraft also find and sink Australian destroyer HMAS VAMPIRE, 8 KIA, corvette
HMS HOLLYHOCK, 53 KIA, oilers ATHELSTANE and BRITISH SERGEANT and Norwegian
merchant ship NORVIKEN.
11 April 1942:Ozawa's Force arrives at Singapore.

13 April 1942:Departs Singapore.

16 April 1942:Arrives at Camranh.

17 April 1942:Departs Camranh.

22 April 1942:Arrives at Kure.

27 April 1942:Kure. Drydocked.

4 May 1942:Undocked.

15 May 1942:CruDiv 7 departs Kure for three days of exercises with
BatDiv 1's YAMATO, NAGATO and MUTSU in the area around Hashirajima.

At 2138, flagship KUMANO spots surfaced submarine USS TAMBOR (SS-198).
KUMANO signals a 45-degree simultaneous turn to starboard to avoid possible
torpedoes. The emergency turn is correctly executed by the flagship and SUZUYA,
but the third ship in the line, MIKUMA, erroneously makes a 90-degree turn.
Behind her, MOGAMI turns 45 degrees as ordered. MOGAMI's navigator, LtCdr
(later Captain) Yamauchi Masaki (51), watching SUZUYA does not see MIKUMA's
movement. This results in a collision in which MOGAMI rams MIKUMA's portside
below the bridge. MOGAMI's bow caves in and she is badly damaged. MIKUMA's
portside oil tanks rupture and she begins to spill oil, but otherwise her
damage is slight.

Admiral Kurita orders MIKUMA and DesDiv 8's ARASHIO and ASASHIO to stay
behind and escort MOGAMI. Flagship KUMANO and SUZUYA are detached from damaged
MOGAMI and MIKUMA. The MOGAMI group proceeds westward at a reduced speed of 17
knots.

13 June 1942: Arrive at Truk.

17-23 June 1942:Departs Truk with SUZUYA, and destroyers ARARE and
KASUMI.

29 July 1942: W of Poeloe Perak, Straits of Malacca, Malaya. Dutch
LtCdr Albertus M. Valkenburg's submarine Hr.Ms. O-23 sights two zig-zagging
MOGAMI-class cruisers (KUMANO and SUZUYA), protected by four destroyers at a
distance of about 7 miles. At 0600, Valkenburg fires four German G7 AD type
torpedoes, but all miss. The Japanese counter-attack with depth charges. A
cruiser and a destroyer head towards O-23. More depth charges are dropped.
Valkenburg finds a thermal layer and slips away running silently. The IJN
ships continue hunting for the O-23 for another six hours.

21 June 1943:LtCdr George A. Sharp's USS SPEARFISH (SS-190)
intercepts and attacks one of the escort carriers, but he misses with four
torpedoes. The Vanguard Force arrives safely at Truk at 1300 (JST) that same
day.

23 June 1943:CruDiv 7 departs Truk with destroyer NIIZUKI.

25 June 1943:Arrives at Rabaul and disembarks the airfield
defense unit.

27 June 1943:Arrives at Truk.

9 July 1943:CruDiv7 departs Truk for Rabaul.

18 July 1943:CruDiv7 departs Rabaul for the Vella Gulf with CHOKAI,
DesRon 3's light cruiser SENDAI and her four destroyers to cover other
destroyer-transports carrying troop reinforcements.

24 October 1944:Tablas Strait. After 1024, KUMANO launches one of her
two remaining floatplanes, the Aichi E13A1 "Jake" No. 1, heading for San Jose,
Mindoro Island. During the ensuing air attacks KUMANO is attacked by 7 carrier
planes (probably from USS ESSEX or LEXINGTON) and receives a bomb hit (a dud)
to No. 4 turret roof. She expends around 70 main battery Type 3 AA rounds,
over 200 12.7-cm and over 1,000 25-mm rounds.

25 October 1944: The
Battle off Samar:At 0724, when attacking TG 77.4.3's "Jeep"
carriers, KUMANO is hit by a torpedo from destroyer USS JOHNSTON (DD-557). The
Mk.15 tears a section of KUMANO's bow off. By 0830 Admiral Shiraishi and his
staff are transferred to SUZUYA while KUMANO retires towards the San Bernardino
Strait at 15 knots. Around noon she is mistakenly attacked by two Aichi E16A1
"Paul" floatplanes and soon thereafter by a Nakajima B6N2 "Jill" torpedo
bomber, scoring no hits. A later attack by some 30 American torpedo and
dive-bombers likewise produces no hits.

26 October 1944:Tablas Strait, near the S tip of Mindoro Island. KUMANO
is attacked by AG-7 aircraft from USS HANCOCK (CV-19) and receives two 1,000-lb
bomb hits; a near miss causes flooding to No. 6 boiler room. Seven boilers are
disabled and the starboard cruising turbine damaged; the cruiser goes dead in
the water. After emergency repairs she can make 10 knots and proceeds to Coron
Bay, rendezvousing with ASHIGARA and destroyer USHIO around 1330. ASHIGARA takes
KUMANO in tow. Around 1630 KUMANO arrives at Coron Bay and refuels from the
oiler NICHIEI MARU.

3 November 1944:Conducts a test run off Manila, developing a maximum
speed of 15 knots.

4 November 1944:At 0100, departs Manila for Takao, Formosa with AOBA
in convoy MATA-31 with six freighters, two kaibokan frigates and five subchasers.

5 November 1944:At 10,000-yards, convoy MATA-31 (15-ships with air
cover) is spotted by lookouts aboard Cdr (later Rear Admiral) John K. Fyfe's USS
BATFISH (SS-310). Fyfe makes a submerged approach on AOBA under the escorts, but
when he comes to periscope depth, BATFISH is almost rammed by a destroyer. Fyfe
aborts his approach and crash dives. Later, he fires six torpedoes at a large
cargo ship, but they all miss.

The four submarines fire 23 torpedoes at KUMANO. At 1052, she is hit by
two torpedoes. One blows off her repaired bow section. The second hits near her
starboard engine room. All four engine rooms are flooded. She takes on an
11-degree list to starboard and becomes unnavigable. At 1930, KUMANO is taken
under tow by the 2,274-ton DORYO MARU and later arrives at Dasol Bay.

7 November 1944: At 1500, arrives at Santa Cruz harbor, west coast
of Luzon.

25 November 1944:Santa Cruz harbor. KUMANO is attacked by aircraft
from Task Force 38's USS TICONDEROGA (CV-14). She is hit by five Mk.13 torpedoes
and four 500-lb. bombs. At 1515, KUMANO capsizes and sinks in 108 ft of water
at 15-45N, 119-48E. 595 survivors are rescued, but Captain Hitomi and 398
sailors are killed. Captain Hitomi is promoted Rear Admiral, posthumously.

20 January 1945:Removed from the Navy List.

Authors' Notes:

[1] Mt. Niitaka, located in Formosa (now Taiwan), was the highest point
in the Japanese Empire at the time.